User talk:70.53.93.167

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] Colbert

Thanks for your contribution, but we are trying to write an encyclopedia here, so please keep your edits factual and neutral. Some readers looking for a serious article might not find them amusing. Remember, millions of people read Wikipedia, so we have to take what we do here seriously. If you'd like to experiment with editing, use the Sandbox to get started. I hope you can help us out! Dave6 02:55, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Hi Dave6,

I realize you've had a lot of problems with vandalism. However, I feel that my contribution (though slightly cheeky) is legitimate. The entry defines hyperreality: "Hyperreality is a way of characterizing the way the consciousness interacts with "reality". Specifically, when a consciousness loses its ability to distinguish reality from fantasy, and begins to engage with the latter without understanding what it is doing, it has shifted into the world of the hyperreal." Additionally, under The Significance of Hyperreality, it says: "Consumerism, because of its reliance on sign exchange value (e.g. brand X shows that one is fashionable, car Y indicates one's wealth), could be seen as a contributing factor in the creation of hyperreality or the hyperreal condition." Colbert's (a fictional television character) statement that "reality has become a commodity" as well as the appeal to use this statement in altering Wikipedia's definition of the term is, I think, a rich and complex embodiment of hyperreality.

I thought that this was a really interesting way of both contributing to Wikipedia in a constructive way, while answering Colbert's call. Perhaps I should have elaborated further in my original entry. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. I'm new to this, so I'm not sure if I'm even responding in the right place. If you feel I have made a case for my entry, please let me know--I'd like to repost, perhaps in a more articulate way. I feel that incorporating Colbert's attempts to rabble-rouse rather than blocking them out completely means that Wikipedia can retain its collective quality while maintaining a certain degree of accuracy and credibility.

Thank You,

Audreyhorne, 10:22, 1 February 2007